Dhruv Koul shares his thoughts and observations from the Bears-Colts preseason game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Follow him on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — I didn’t watch the Chicago Bears’ third preseason game live against the Indianapolis Colts last night. I was a couple hours south of Indianapolis, at dinner with my significant other, when I received permission from her to quickly check Twitter to see what was going on. Not expecting anything, naturally, this happened:
For something as mind-numbing as preseason football, this was major news — not just for the Colts, but for the NFL in general.
As for the actual game, the Bears beat the Colts 27-17, fueled by another impressive defensive performance in which Chicago generated multiple takeaways, two for scores, as they stormed back from a seven-point halftime deficit.
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I shared my thoughts and observations from the game below, too. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Thoughts and Observations
1. I said it last week and I’ll say it again: Say what you want about Mitch Trubisky (I know I have), but if the Bears are forced to turn to Chase Daniel for an extended period of time, they are in big trouble.
2. While we’re talking about QBs, I thought Tyler Bray played very well last night. He showed off his arm strength and delivered some spot-on passes to receivers while facing some pressure. His TD pass to Jesper Horsted to put the game away wasn’t one of them, either. I liked what he showed.
3. Yet again, while we’re talking about QBs, I was very impressed with Indy’s Chad Kelly. I liked him coming out of school and despite his issues off the field, his talent shined pretty brightly last night. With Luck’s retirement, Kelly very likely will take the primary backup role behind Jacoby Brissett.
4. Eddy Pineiro very likely locked down his job as Bears’ kicker last night. Not only was he perfect on his kicks, including an awesome 58 yarder, but most of his kicks split the uprights right down the middle. Watching him get AMPED after making that kick and his teammates surround him in excitement was awesome to see. It seems the Bears breathed a collective sigh of relief last night.
5. I have serious concerns about the Bears’ depth at offensive tackle. Yet again, Cornelius Lucas looked absolutely clueless and Chicago lost veteran OT T.J. Clemmings to injury. Alex Bars filled in nicely at RT, drawing from his experience playing tackle at Notre Dame, but the Bears can’t feel very good if something were to happen to Charles Leno Jr. or Bobby Massie. They will surely be scouring the waiver wire and trade market for help here.
6. Ryan Nall is making a strong case for a roster spot. He showed soft hands, good vision, decent speed and an ability to break tackles. His 69 yard run on 1st-and-30 was a thing of beauty, but more impressive might have been his TD run that was called back due to penalty. He drove through defenders to reach the end zone on that one. The Bears should really consider a way to get him on the roster.
I also liked what I saw from Josh Caldwell, whom the Bears signed earlier this week. His numbers won’t show it, but I thought he ran the ball pretty well (when he wasn’t being hit right at the mesh point), and showed nice catching ability while diving for a bullet from Bray.
7. James Vaughters better make this team. Kylie Fitts, despite his draft status, better not. Another strong showing from Vaughters; another disastrous showing for Fitts. This should be an easy decision.
8. The cornerback depth competition is interesting: Michael Joseph put together a quietly sound game last night. John Franklin III got burned a couple times and missed a tackle, while Clifton Duck didn’t do anything major during the game. Keep an eye on Joseph.
9. Deon Bush is a legitimate NFL safety, folks. His play to rip the ball out from the Colts’ defender and take it 91 yards for the touchdown was incredible. The throw was good; Bush just made an incredible play.
10. I don’t understand why Roy Robertson-Harris plays in these preseason games. No, he’s not a starter for the team. But he’s a very good defensive lineman who has proved himself over the course of multiple years. He’s an important part of the rotation and great depth on the Bears’ DL. I really hope he doesn’t see any action in next Thursday’s preseason finale.
11. Finally, the elephant in the room: Andrew Luck’s retirement. I want to wish Andrew all the best in his next chapter — I hope he gets healthy soon and is able to get back to leading the life he envisioned for himself.
That said, this is no-doubt devastating news in the short term for the Colts. They have a capable backup in Jacoby Brissett, and they reportedly knew for a few weeks that Luck was wrestling with his decision to retire. That’s likely why they sat Brissett tonight. The Colts will still be a decent, competitive team capable of winning quite a few games this year.
But I have to address the Colts’ home crowd booing Luck off the field. That, and a lot of the nonsense that was spewed on Twitter — takes that called Luck ‘weak’, a ‘joke’, or supporting Colts’ fans right to boo him for retiring. All of that is delusional garbage. For example, look at this horseshit:
There are much more important things in life than sports. An average human being that quits their job because they no longer enjoy it due to the pain it causes them is justified, but someone like Luck deserves to get booed?
Why, exactly? On what planet is that fair? Because he makes millions? He makes millions because his industry his so popular and his skill set is so specialized and sought after that that’s what the market sets. There are 32 jobs like his in the WORLD and not even those 32 jobs can be filled adequately. Oh, and by the way, he WALKED AWAY from many more millions so that he could get on with his life. He does not owe you anything.
Pathetic reaction. Human beings are better than this. Do better.
